Arirang

(This article was first published in Small World Ezine on 25 June 2002)

South Korea, miraculously, has come to the semi-final round
of 2002 World Cup! They are going to meet with my favorite
German national team today. I am having problem taking side
now... my favorite German, or my fellow little guy Korean.

Whichever team I am cheering, this is the best time for us 
to talk about South Korea, the culture, the people, and of
course... places to visit.

When the economy bloomed, I used to go there... like... I 
don't know how many times in a month, but in all those trips 
I had never spend a minute outside the shopping streets of 
Seoul!

Anyway, the first thing I thought of when I decided to write
about South Korea was not "Where else to go?" but "What does
Arirang mean?"

It is not easy to define the "meaning" or "Arirang". Let's 
start with an old legend...

Once upon a time, there were a man named "Rirang" and a girl
named "Songbu". They were servants of a landlord in a 
village in a mountain.

After a year of heavy drought, the village encountered 
shortage of rice. Farmers were having hard time getting food,
but the landlord had no mercy. He still forced them to paying
the rental/taxes. Finally when there's no more money, the 
landlord took the last of the seeds the farmers had. Farmers
decided to fight back. But the landlord sent the troops and 
they killed all farmers who took part in the rebellion.

Rirang and Songbu, who had also joined the rebel, managed to
escape from the massacre. Rirang decided to take revenge by 
joining farmers everywhere fighting against feudal officials 
and landlord's exploitations. At this time, Songbu so sad 
parting with her husband, started singing a song named 
"Arirang".

Arirang is a melody which name derives from its letters' 
meaning---parting from my dear husband and has another 
parlance---from Songbu's husband's name. Later it had become, 
as stated in arirangtv.com -- "a great significance to 
Koreans...

If you happen to travel in Korea, you'll be amazed at how 
many different types of shops use the name Arirang. The word 
Arirang cannot be defined exact to the point, but to this 
day, Arirang evokes in many Koreans a powerful reaction. They 
say it resonates with a message, suiting their Confucianist 
sensibility. Namely, that a hard life ultimately leads to 
good... For this reason, Koreans overseas find in Arirang a 
source of hope and common comfort, uniting Koreans (wherever 
they may be)." 

Well... We still don't know what it means, do we?

 (North Korea Flag)

The country of South Korea is located on the southern part of 
Korean Peninsula (with North Korea on the Northern part). See 
the map and facts/statistics Here 

It was said that, some 3,000 years ago, Altic peoples (from
The Altai Mountain) migrated south into the Korean peninsula 
and integrated with the indigenous population. These Altic 
people were responsible for bringing Bronze Age culture to 
the peninsula, and the rise of Korea's ancient kingdoms began 
shortly thereafter. 

The Japanese invasion of the peninsula in 1910 ended the 
Dynasty. Korea remained under Japanese colonial rule for 36 
years until the end of World War II. On August 15, 1945, 
Japan surrendered to the Allies and withdrew from the Korean 
peninsula. Since then, the Korean peninsula has been divided 
into two: democratic South Korea and communist North Korea. 
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korea 
invaded South Korea. An armistice agreement was signed 3 
years later, in 1953. 

Koreans are known as one of the hardest-working people in the 
world. The Korean people struggled successfully for millennia 
to maintain their cultural and political identity despite the 
influence of several invasion in the old time. They are a 
proud people with one of the longest national history in the 
world. 

More:

Where to go:

Changdok Palace (no.1 must) had been a royal residence until 
1910, Chongmyo was the Royal Ancestral Tablet House, 
Chogye-sa (also must) is the chief temple of Korean Buddhism 
and one of the largest Buddhist temples in Seoul, and 
Kuonghoe-ru are the royal tombs of the last 2 Yi Dynasty 
Rulers. Nature-lovers can enjoy the gardens, mountains, 
lakes, and beautiful beaches too.

From now to July 1st (government declared 'World Cup' public 
holiday), the traffic to South Korea must be heavy (though
the final match is held in Japan), but after that it's still
a nice time to visit. Still summer. 

To get around:

In big cities like Seoul or Pusan, taxis are most convenient. 
If you'd like to try... the underground tubes are fastest, 
but the most crowded also. Watch your wallet. And don't 
travel within rush hours.

Ebook:  Korea Versus Korea